A rebound in consumption and strong exports helped the German economy in the second quarter to know its strongest growth since reunification in 1990, show detailed GDP data released Tuesday.

The German economy grew by 2.2% in the second quarter compared with the previous three months, said the Federal Statistics Office, confirming the flash estimate released on August 13.

Exports, benefiting from the economic recovery of many trading partners of Germany and the fall of the euro, grew by 8.2% over the same period, which also represents a record high since 1990.

But the upturn in Germany, in view of the components of GDP, had a broad base in the second quarter.Consumption expenditure of households increased for the first time since the second quarter of 2009 and show an increase of 0.6% over the previous three months.

"Domestic demand has clearly contributed to growth, not only due to the impact of the recovery as was the case previously", said Jörg Lüschow, WestLB.

"Domestic consumption can take over if the driver of external demand is weakening in the second half of the year."

On an annual basis, the gross domestic product in Germany grew by 4.1% in the second quarter, said the Federal Office of Statistics, again confirming the preliminary estimate.

The first European economy differs significantly from other countries and the euro area. Last week, the French government has lowered its forecast 2% growth for 2011.

GROWTH IN 2ND HALF LOWER

"There is no doubt growth will slow in Germany, provides Carsten Brzeski, economist at ING Financial Markets."However, the fundamentals are in place so that the engine continues to run well."

"With order books well filled, strong business confidence, an impressive performance of the labor market and the first signs of recovery in private consumption, while promising a robust but slower growth in the second half of the year. "

The construction sector, which resumed after a particularly harsh winter, has contributed 0.5 percentage points to GDP in the second quarter.

The balance of trade and investment have each contributed 0.8 percentage points.Domestic demand contributed to GDP by 1.3 percentage points and private consumption of 0.3 points.

"However, keep in mind that investment, in particular, is still relatively low after falling two figures seen at certain times during the economic crisis of 2008-2009," said the Statistics Office in a statement.

The good performance of the German economy in the second quarter led the Bundesbank to raise the last week its growth forecast for 2010, increased to 3% against 2% previously.

This strength was reflected in the quarterly results published by the major German companies.Of the 30 companies listed in the DAX index in Frankfurt Stock Exchange, 23 have exceeded market expectations and 12 have raised their forecasts.